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Join & Discover Your Local Native Bees

THE NATIVE BEE NETWORK

Your local ecosystem is home to many unique native bee species.

Groups and organizations work together as a team, placing many nesting sites across your community’s natural landscape. Your group effort increases the area of coverage and allows us to create a richer map of your local bee species.

HOW YOUR GROUP CAN HELP

Group or organization participation in the NBN program is easy! Your organization will purchase a set of NBN Native Bee Station nesting sites. Set up the nesting sites over the spring and summer, input observations in the fall, protect the sites over the winter, and place the filled nesting holes out again the next spring.

Group Instructions

The minimum commitment for group participation is twenty NBN Native Bee Stations. Group NBN participation averages 40 NBN sets, which costs about $500.

Discuss the NBN program and optimal locations for the nesting sites with Crown Bees, and place an order for group participation.

Install the NBN sets in the spring or summer. Using a smartphone, enter nest site location data through our Native Bee Network Map web application. If possible, observe some of the nest sites for bee activity during the spring and summer.

In the fall, use the NBN Map App to locate and retrieve all NBN nesting sites. Open some sample reeds and take a picture of the cocoon or nesting chamber then close it back up with tape or rubber bands. Add pictures and data to your NBN Map App profile.

Over the winter, protect and store reeds in an unheated garage or shed, keeping the bundle of reeds and its NBN Native Bee Station together.

In the spring, filled and partially-filled reeds are placed back at roughly the same location with new reeds added as necessary.

We ask that each group participate in a one-year commitment. Our intent is to observe native bee nesting activity over a period of years. Many bee species may show up one year, but not the next. Prolific and returning bees are the bee species who are excellent candidates for farm pollination.

LEADING THE DISCOVERY OF NATIVE BEES

The NBN program will work best if your group can participate for as long as possible because it will take many years to discover bees for nearby farm pollination. Twenty years from now, we hope to raise and supply native bees in organic farms, orchards, and yards to produce significantly more food. Your participation in this program is greatly appreciated!

To get started, please fill out this form and a team member will be in touch with details on how to move forward!